Gods Eater Aftermath
by Neu1228
Summary: My take on the events between Ressurection and Rage Burst. Going into Rage Burst final Arc. Mature for adult language, themes and possible acts in the future.
1. Preview

The Den has quieted and the emergence of new Aragami leads to a new unit in the Far East.


	2. Chapter 1

The alarms were blazing all around the Den, the name of the God's Eater home. Very unusual as the Aragami, the monsters plaguing mankind, we're usually quiet at this time, but on this night one seemed to be very active. The God Eaters were mankind's last line of defense and hopefully salvation in this monstrous world.

Noble, the leader of the first unit quickly boarded the elevator from his floor up to the Den's operations hall. He was the first up there still in his night clothes, a pair of comfy silk pants. He was Dark skinned with purple eyes, a result of an ill fated choice many missions ago where he was infected with out of control Aragami cells that quickly ate his own Bias Aragami cells, his hair was a deep shade of midnight and went down to the small of his back.

He stepped behind the operations wall and checked on the current situation through the view monitor. A Vajra, a type of Aragami that took the form of a large tiger like being with a cape like mane, was quickly approaching the outer area of the defensive wall surrounding the Fenrir town.

Hibari the red haired, green eyed, operator bumped into him as she rushed to check the situation herself, "Noble," She gasped as he stepped past her, "You know you aren't supposed to be behind the counter." She tried to lighten the mood as she saw the situation, turning off the alarm. "A Vajra huh? And none of the others are awake yet, this could be a problem." She talked to herself in worried tones.

"Just send me out, I can handle it. We don't have a lot of time to waste." He headed for the exit to the God Arcs.

The God Arcs are the weapons of the God Eaters, the weapons as well as their owners are infused with a special type of isolated Aragami cells that allows them to fight off the Aragami on somewhat equal footing. There are two types of God Arcs, those that are a blade and shield and those that are just a gun (old types), the second type are simply a combination of the two (New type), this was the kind Noble used. The cells used to keep the Arcs under control are in surgically implanted bracelets given to the God Eaters when outfitted with the Bias Cells that give them their ability to wield their God Arcs. The bracelets are also used to monitor vitals when out in the field and keep in touch with the operator and team mates.

He grabbed his Arc and rushed straight to the outer defensive wall. He arrived in time to absorb the blow from one of the Vajra's lightning balls. "Come on kitty!" He charged in attacking the beast with ferocity and dodging it's blows. When an ample opening was presented he bent down, a maw appearing from his God Arc and biting into the Vajra absorbing it's cells to power himself up. The Vajra roared, jumped back and launched a set of lightning balls down towards Noble.

"It's oracle response is falling dramatically." Hibari told him through his armlet (the bracelet)'s communicator. "Make sure it doesn't get away,"

Noble cut through the lightning balls, rushed in landing a critical blow on the Vajra cleaving into it's face before stepping in and chopping it's head off. He unleashed the maw from his arc once again to absorb the core of the monster so it couldn't regenerate and headed right back to the Den. "Hibari, job's done. I think there was something wrong with that core though." He began coughing blood and barely managed to make it back to the den, collapsing in the God Arc armory where Licca found him.

Licca is the engineer or blacksmith of the den, whatever you want to call her, she's in charge of handling the God Arcs as she 'understands' them. She was able to get Noble's arc out of his hand and into it's case as the medical team brought him to sick bay to be tested for impurities. Licca began checking the God Arc for any inconsistencies in the Bias Cells. She would end up enraptured in her work, even more so because this had to do with Noble and she was very fond of the Den's Leader,. Then again everyone was.


	3. Chapter 2

Hibari sat behind her desk slightly distraught, she kept telling herself that the Vajra's oracle cells were dropping way too quickly but she didn't even think to have Noble pull back or even think of calling anyone else out to the field. She made a bad call as an operator and was beating herself up about it. Luckily it was still late at night and none of the others had woken up, she made her way down to the sick bay and ran into The Den's director, Tsubaki, and it's Professor/ Doctor Sakaki. She heard the ending of their conversation:

"As soon as his condition stabilizes completely I want him set back on active duty so at most he'll be out a day or two, put Lindow as active team leader in the meantime." Tsubaki sighed and noticed Hibari approaching. "He's going to be alright. Maybe if you're lucky the Dr. will let you in to see him." She left the medical floor, presumably to go back to her room, after all it was the middle of the night.

"Is he going to be okay?" Hibari twiddled her thumbs with anxiety.

"Ah yes he's going to be fine, it seems it was just a bit of bad food in the case of the Vajra, not unlike the incident with the Second Nova originally. You can keep him company and even escort him back to his room if he begins to feel up to the task of walking," The doctor let out a rather large yawn, "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going back to bed." Sakaki removed himself.

Hibari sighed, took a deep breath took steel herself and stepped into Noble's medical room. He wasn't asleep as she expected nor did he seem to be in pain, he was just sitting there, reading a book as if nothing had happened to him. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to hide from your responsibilities, leader." She smiled playfully. Noble set his book down, "I would never do such a thing." He feigned having his feelings hurt. "Sakaki told me to sit still until my cells relaxed and currently they are but they jump every now and again." He shrugged.

"I see, I'm sorry I saw the change but didn't think it was that big a deal." She looked a bit disturbed. Waiting for him to chastise her for not giving that information, she always did assume the worse when she made a bad call.

"Hibari don't sweat it, I probably wouldn't have listened anyway." He smiled before sticking his tongue out at her, "Shouldn't you be going to bed?" He asked worried about her being up so late.

Hibari gave him an odd look, "Do you really think I could sleep after this? I sent you out there and you come back sick. What makes you think I could possibly relax after that?" Her eyes narrowed in anger before he had a chance to say something smart, instead he said nothing. "I'm going to stay here until the morning okay? It's not up for debate either." A sigh left the room silent.

And she did just that, stayed by his side falling asleep only a few minutes after her statement. Noble chuckled to himself and went back to reading his book.

Dr. Sakaki made sure to get Hibari up early to avoid the others asking her questions so early. It would give her time to get herself together and help with Noble's recovery which was coming along faster than expected, of course the 1st unit would notice the absence of their leader before Tsubaki's messaged reached them. "Your recovery is coming along quite nicely." Sakaki informed as Noble stirred. "Your oracle cells have completely stabilized and any hint of you being sick is completely gone. So, you'll have to tell me if there was anything different about the Vajra you faced." The doctors eyes narrowed.

Noble sat up and yawned, "Nothing," He said after a moment, "No scars or anything. It didn't feel different when I cut into it either. Maybe analyzing the core will give you some more concrete results. I don't know." He sighed more than a little annoyed with the current situation.

"Very well, I'll be keeping you on sick leave the rest of today, you can get back to the field tomorrow, fair enough?" Sakaki asked but it wasn't really a question it was a direct order, he smiled as he left.

Noble sighed and just accepted the order as he relaxed himself. Some time passed and eventually Noble went to his room. On his way there Licca joined him, "I did some test on your Arc, it's becoming unstable." She informed.

"How can I fix it then?" He pushed the button on the elevator for his floor. "Well it needs new cells, I've already asked Soma if he could get me the cells needed for the repairs." She sighed, "I told you to be more careful with your arc, it's starting to look a lot like Lindow's did before we found him again." She didn't go further with her chastising but she did make him promise to be more careful.

Ding, the elevator opened and standing in the hall in front of Noble's door was a completely pale white woman with gilded eyes, she was wearing a white dress and looked to be no more than 13.

"Shio's back?" Licca looked at Noble confused. "Apparently, I wasn't aware of this." Noble replied he called out to her, "Shio!" After his call she lit up with a smile and rushed over tackling him to the floor with a powerful hug.

"Shio missed you." Her soft voice cooed over him.

"We missed you too Shio, I've made you some new clothes as well." Licca patted her head and helped Noble up.

"Not itchy right?" Shio questioned trying to sound a bit more grown up.

Shio is an Aragami who happened to take the form of a young child, her education was rudimentary at best when they first found her but after spending time in the Den with the others, she grew as a person breaking away from her original self as an Aragami.

Licca smiled, "Not itchy at all," Shio beamed in return then turned back to Noble a glare in her eyes.

Her soft fingers pointed at him accusingly, "You got hurt!" She sounded very upset, "Why?" Her voice only more accusing, "Did you eat something bad?" Her final question of course. "Yes, Aragami was nasty." he nodded knowing she would understand, so he described the Vajra to her and she looked at him for a moment, "I'll talk to Doctor." She looked serious as she stepped into the elevator.

Licca looked confused for a moment, "I'm not gonna ask, you go rest and I'll go check on your companion. Hopefully Soma finds everything by the end of the day." Her smile was warm and she left Noble standing in front of the doorway to his room.


	4. Chapter 3

He stepped inside and noticed that his room smelled strangely, he looked around for the cause of the strange smell and found an incense burner in the corner, "Thanks Shio." He smiled at her kind thought and left it on, perhaps he'd adjust to the strange smell. The room was pretty bare, he didn't care to decorate it, in one corner was a bed, the other a standard issue terminal for all God Eater's here at the den, the other housed an L-couch and coffee table, the last corner was a 'kitchen' the only thing on his wall was a painting of the moon. He sat on his bed and produced a book from the shelf nearby deciding to catch up on his reading for the time being as he was on bed rest anyway. Soon he found himself starting to drift off to sleep despite his best efforts to stay awake, no longer able to resist the temptation of his body's want to shut down he finally gave in, put his book back and drifted off.

He was nudged awake by a woman with medium length white hair, a red right eye as her left was covered with an eyepatch, she was sitting on his lap in a pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt that held in her b-cups. "It's about time you woke up," She noticed he was going to speak and covered his mouth, "No no no, you are in trouble." She spoke with authority, "How dare you go and get hurt on a mission, you didn't even wake me up to help you out. You jerk." She had one hand on his neck now with a sadistic grin, and slowly she added pressure. The moment passed like this and she let go, "You're no fun, you used to play along with me and now you don't," She leaned in kissing his cheek, "I helped the recruits take out a Hannibal today." She removed herself from him and stretched out.

Noble sat up, "To answer your question earlier, it was a Vajra by itself I didn't know the thing was or that they even could be infected. Mission successful?" Noble walked over to his stereo player and turned on some orchestrated tunes, Gina's current favorite post-mission music.

Gina moved back in surprise, "I didn't let you know this is what I've been listening too. You sneaky man you." Sly smile and then she jumped at the knock on the door, "Expecting company?" She asked, Noble just shook his head.

Gina gave him a second look as she went to the door and opened it. "Oh, Director Tsubaki. What brings you by?" her question hung in the air as Tsubaki made her away inside the room.

"We've just received a call from the Russia branch," Tsubaki stated, "Alisa and Stark will be returning tomorrow evening," She now focused direct attention on Noble, "You will make sure the area is clear for their return. I figured this will be perfect for you since you won't be doing any missions today." She nodded to Gina and made sure to shut the door behind her when she left.

Gina looked at the floor lost in thought. Noble raised an eyebrow, "What is it?" He asked her. "It's been a year since we last saw them right? Think they've had any kids yet?" She grinned. "Probably not," Noble shook his head with a chuckle, "But I bet they've had plenty of intimate moments." He finished.

Suddenly Gina was in his face again, "So why don't we?" She asked him, her eye seeming to glow with energy. Noble chuckled, "Because you never want to when we get back from a mission, sniper fetish." He wiped his shirt off as Gina flustered to find a comeback, he kissed the tip of her nose, "I'm gonna go see how everyone is doing." Then he left.

Noble stepped into the rookie section, he found the other two new-types: Annette a blonde with emphasis on offensive tactics and Federico a black haired male who is 'overly cautious' in battle the two compliment each other with one on the offense and the other on defense, if only they could actually learn the tactics of teamwork.

"Oh Leader hello!" Annette enthusiastically greeted when she noticed him. "How are you today, I heard you're taking the day off from Hibari." She looked him up and down her teenage mind probably about to jump to an odd location.

"Whoa whoa, don't start with the crazy accusations again." Federico chimed in, "Afternoon leader, you taking a break to give the Aragami a fighting chance against you? Or just to let the rest of us have a few missions for once?" He smiled, this was something they often joked about.

"Well Old man Gen said I should take it easy for a while. How are you two fairing by the way?" He asked with a sly grin as if he knew something they didn't.

"We're doing good." It took Federico a second to answer, he must've been reflecting on his mission with Gina cause he soon asked: "Do you think you could give me some tips on getting my arc to change faster?" He had this hopeful look about him. Annette groaned, "Boring!" She interjected, "Why bother changing when you have a weapon already? It's so dumb, just hit the things until they die." She said this as if that were an obvious given.

"You've been listening to Soma entirely too much. So listen here okay," Noble sat down adjacent to them, "If you only focus on one thing so much you WILL die. You are both new types and since us three are currently the only new types here we have to play both defense and offense. Do you understand? If we fail to do something as simple as that then how can we keep our team alive and well?" He raised an eyebrow as the two seemed to think about his question hard. "It's something to think about." He stood up, pulled both into a hug and got back into the elevator.

"Hey how are you feeling?" Hibari smiled brightly when Noble came into her view, much to the dismay of her ever-long admirer Tatsumi.

"So first you take Kanon and now you're taking my sweet Hibari?" Tatsumi was joking, but luckily he couldn't see the momentarily worried look on Hibari's face at how true his statement really was.

Noble smiled, "I thought you told me to make friends with everyone ? I didn't realize I couldn't make friends with Kanon, allow me to go tell her you're being a jerk." He grinned making a very exaggerated one-eighty turn.

Tatsumi grabbed his shoulder, "You know I was joking man." He smiled, "Seriously though, thanks for taking the day off, I don't mean to sound rude or anything but not having you taking missions has really allowed the rest of us to take some missions again." The two shook hands,

"Thank Hibari for that, she convinced me to take the day off." Noble sent Hibari a wink and she giggled. "Don't pin the blame on me," She said, "You were the one who was complaining about how tired you've been lately." A small grin crossed her face.

Tatsumi noticed, looking between the two, "Something is going on here. So come on Hibari let me take you out tonight?" He asked, always trying to score that date.

"Yeah, let him take you to dinner with all that money he's scoring from his missions today." Noble chuckled as he walked away from the two of them, leaving Hibari giving him a 'are you serious' look.


	5. Chapter 4

It seemed that the rest of the den was relatively empty today, everyone out on missions the silence was actually rather peaceful. He had forgotten how relaxing it was compared to the battlefield. He plugged his headphones into his cellphone and turned on the music relaxing in the lounge upstairs. Moments passed in silence and he became aware of a presence on either side of him.

Quickly he flipped around taking a battle stance and startling Shio and Lindow.

Lindow is a strong man, white skinned with black hair that hangs over his left eye, his eyes are a light green. He wears a brown coat with coattails that go down past his waist. The coat is open to show the dark brown shirt worn underneath. He also wears a pair of brown pants that tuck into his brown league boots with golden accents. Also the current leader of the 1st unit while Neirad is on sick leave, it's also worth mentioning that his right arm is pure black resembling that of an Aragami.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to startle you." He said with a cool laugh as he approached. "Just figured you'd want an extra set of eyes out in the field when you greet Stark and Alisa." He smiled.

"What about Sakuya? Don't you two have an important 'mission' tonight?" Neirad responded with a small laugh.

Sakuya is Lindow's wife, a lovely woman with bright mocha eyes and dark brown hair that stops just above her shoulders. She's also a sniper Arc user and one of the senior staff members of the Far East. A lucky catch for Lindow to be sure, and the only woman he had eyes for.

"She'll understand, beside it shouldn't take that long while we have Shio here, not to mention Stark and Alisa arriving on the scene." Lindow laughed again.

Neirad looked to Shio who only gave him the soft sweet smile she produced for her dearest friends. "Alright, fine. But if Sakuya gets upset with us I'm pinning all the blame on you." finger pointed at Lindow chest as if it had the power the drill a hole right through the man.

"Alright, alright. Let's just get this done with." Lindow smiled and walked to the Den Gate.

The three of them made their way onto the roof. Shio and Lindow armed with their Arcs at the ready in case something did happen. The scenario being highly unlikely as the other den inhabitants had been busy knocking out extermination missions.

They stood on the roof patiently waiting, half an hour passed before the helicopter came into view. Shio spotted it first and began jumping up and down enthusiastically when she did. It took the two males a moment to locate the flying vehicle and they could see Stark sticking his head out of the side and waving, his hand dangerously close to the blades. A moment later and he was yanked back inside, it seemed to be rather forcefully as well.

"Alisa." Lindow and Neirad said in unison as their eyes locked.

The helicopter barely touched down when Stark jumped out and tackled his best friend to the ground. Neirad landed with a thud and an 'oof', "It's great to see you too." He smiled standing back up to greet Alisa with a strong hug that reeked of worry. "Did he cause any problems?" The question was asked as he set her down.

Alisa fixed the checkered red beret on top of long silver hair. "He actually only got into one fight." She smiled, fixing her small black vest so that it revealed the midriff of her soft white skin beneath, she wore a checkered red skirt that barely reached down to her thighs, with black thigh high boots covering the rest of her legs. A rather revealing outfit to be sure but it seemed Alisa didn't truly mind it. Her Alice blue eyes focused on Lindow, "I hear you and Sakuya are to be expecting soon?" She pulled Shio into a hug.

Stark laughed, "Why wouldn't they be. They can't keep their hands off each other." He scoffed but smiled playfully. Stark was a built young man, with dark brown eyes, pale skin and long well kept black hair. He wore a sleeveless black shirt and baggy blue jeans, a pair of black boots to complete the outfit.

"Eat, eat!" Shio insisted as she began to tug on Alisa's arm attempting to drag her back down to the Den.

"Okay, okay, we'll go eat." Alisa laughed as the small Aragami girl led her into the Den.

Neirad smiled to his best friend, "Let's go join them." He followed after the vanishing women


	6. Chapter 5

Neirad told Stark that they'd catch up later, he received a message telling him to come to the Arc locker, as Licca called it. He entered to find her waiting patiently for him as she softly spoke to his God Arc. "Everything is going to be alright. You and your partner just need to take it a bit easier." She said as if it could understand her. "I'm going to talk to him right now and tell him to take it easy, you both need some rest and that means fewer missions against deusphages." She turned around to see Neirad standing there with one hand on his forehead.

"I didn't know I was pushing so hard." He told her. "I'll make sure to take it easy from now on. I'll just do a few suppression missions with the defense unit."

Licca shook her head, "Not even those." She demanded. "For the next few days I'm going to have you put on Recon missions strictly. "Fodder Aragami at most." The steely look in her eye shut down any chance he had at protesting. "Good, now let's go celebrate the safe return of our idiot." She said referring to Stark.

It had been a while since the Den had a party that wasn't interrupted by an Aragami attack and they took full advantage of the blue moon window to celebrate. They listened to Alisa and Stark recount stories of their missions together.

Gina waved Licca and Neirad over to where her and Kanon were sitting. "Glad to see your brother in arms again?" Gina asked, Kanon offered them both a plate of cookies she had made.

Kanon is a young girl with pink hair and blue eyes. She wears a black sleeveless shirt under her green dress with 2 pockets, and black leggings with white boots with belts.

"I'm really happy to see him back safe." Neirad's jaw clenched though. "Not happy to hear about all the close calls he's had though. I have half a mind to punch him in the damn eye." He took one of the cookies from Kanon and thanked her for it.

Licca scowled, "Oh. I hope they took very good care of his Arc otherwise I'm going to lecture him for hours." She sighed.

Stark as in usual fashion began an arm wrestling match with Lindow, much to the dismay of Doctor Sakaki. "I suppose the cleaning crew is going to have a field day with this." He sighed walking back to his laboratory. "Neirad, do keep an eye on your friend please." He asked him.

"Will do professor." Neirad nodded and stood up, heading over to the others. "Get him Lindow!" He cheered with the others.

Stark looked at him with a feeling of betrayal. "I come back and you cheer for Lindow?" He shouted and then cursed himself for getting distracted and losing the arm wrestling match. "I fucking hate you." He growled before laughing.

Lindow leaned back in his seat his hands behind his head, "I'm still the best," he stated with a smugness that made Stark fume. "Is that steam I see coming out of your ears?" He smiled, "someone bring me a tea kettle!" He called out.

Alisa appeared a second after the request with a tea kettle full of water and placed it perfectly on top of Stark's head. "It suits you so well dear." She smiled


	7. Chapter 6

"I do hope you all plan on cleaning this mess up!" Tsubaki shouted at them. She and Hibari stepped over the bodies of the passed out God Eaters covering the floor of the Den's main area. "I know I allowed them this party but." Tsubaki gestured to the room around them, "Well you can see why we are so strict on our beer and wine rations."

Hibari remained quiet, she was only doing well because she wasn't a heavy drinker and her tolerance was laughably low. She suppressed a blush remembering how Lindow carried her to her room before she fully lost control to the intoxication. She was pulled from her thoughts as Tsubaki yelled at Tatsumi to go put on a shirt.

They approached the operations desk and found it spotless to their surprise. Tsubaki heard the shuffling of feet moving quietly down the stairs. "Hold it." She ordered stepping around the corner to see Stark and Neirad carrying bags of what seemed to be empty alcohol bottles. "Trying to keep the others out of trouble are you?" Her question hung in the air.

Neirad looked around, "It's four in the morning. We were going to clean up and get everyone back to their rooms before you did your rounds at 6." He was giving her a questioning look now. "Which brings me to this question, "Director Tsubaki, what kind of operation are you planning for this early in the morning?" He handed Stark the bags he was carrying and sent him away before Tsubaki could stop him.

Tsubaki grinned, "You must enjoy playing these games of trying my patience, corporal."

Hibari, who was standing behind Tsubaki, gave Neirad a warning look not to give a smart Alec answer, as he usually did.

Neirad noticed and took a breath. "Director, I do enjoy these games. Only because I want to make sure I can keep the others in the know of what is happening in our home."

Tsubaki was poised to reply when a new voice cut in, followed by several footsteps. "Director I brought them here just as you requested." The voice was soft and clearly belonged to Licca. She brought the two newest additions to the Far East Branch, Annette Koenig and Federico Caruso. The three approached the director, stopping dead in their tracks when they noticed the heated stare-down between the leader of the 1stunit and Director Tsubaki. "Oh boy." Licca mumbled.

Annette usually a ball of energy was staunchly quiet, not quite sure what was going on. Her russet eyes went to Federico and then Licca looking for answers. She held her head down allowing her blonde hair to cover her eyes as she tried to make sense of what was happening. She wore a blue dress with long sleeves and a popped collar, a pair of blue high top socks and low cut blue shoes. Her hands were clasped together as she waited for someone to say something, anything.

Federico stood much the same way. He wore a hooded yellow topped jacket with a blue bottom clasped shut at the throat, a white shirt beneath that and green jeans, with a pair of chartreuse boots. He scratched at the back of his head before fixing the black hair on top, his russet eyes were fixed dead ahead.

Tsubaki gained a devilish grin as Stark re-entered the room. "I'll have Lindow clean this mess up. You and Stark will accompany these two on their training mission. And you are not to return until both can work together as a cohesive two man unit." She turned to Hibari, "Send them the details of what they'll be hunting." She began to walk away from them. A smug rhythm to her step.

Hibari looked at Neirad with disappointment, "Why must you challenge her?" She asked him. "I'm serious Neirad, why do you test her with these stupid actions?" She was typing no differently on her console but the sound was filled with anger to Stark and Neirad. "You have your mission. Licca please take them to their Arcs. I'll get this all cleaned up and spotless." She was really rather calm but her movement was tighter than usual.

Neirad considered apologizing but decided against it and headed to the den gate waiting for Licca to open the doors for them.

Stark looked between the two of them, "I'm sorry if we got you in any trouble Hibari. I'll buy you lunch when we get back from this." He offered as they walked into the Arc holding area. Hibari didn't respond.

They were dropped into the old city where a Yaksha and Ravana were attempting to take run of the place. They made the decision to split the two up, sending Annette after the walking gun and Federico after the flaming dog beast.

Neirad caught Annette as she was flung backwards. "You're facing a Yaksha if you're going to blindly attack it at least aim for it's legs. And when it shoots into the air move out of the way or learn to use your shield. It CAN save your life." He advised sending her back to face the beast alone.

Stark chuckled as he watched Federico struggle with his Arc changing, "A bit of advice, your Arc is a part of you. It's your truest partner and only wants to see you through the battle and back home safe and sound. You can't keep being afraid of it changing forms, change is not a bad thing." Stark told him as the young warrior struggled to switch back to his longblade form so he can block one of the Ravana's fireball attacks.

Both teachers were struggling to think of a good middle ground with their students. "Stark." Neirad called on a secured channel.

"Go for it."

"How's the kid doing?"

"Terribly, he sucks at changing forms. Like worse than I did when we started." Stark shook his head as Federico took another blow. "And the girl?"

Neirad chuckled, "Not fairing much better to be honest with you. She's got the offense but won't change arcs to shoot the damn thing and god forbid she tries to use a shield." That was when an idea hit him. "Hey Stark, we should have them switch." He suggested.

"Why?" The lone question.

"It's a well learned lesson." He responded.

"Switch targets!" The two veterans shouted in unison to their scouts.

Annette looked back at Neirad in confusion, "You want me to what?" She shouted.

"I said switch. Your new target is the Ravana, and Federico will finish this enemy off. Now go switch!" He ordered.

Both recruits carried flashbombs on them but did not use these items as they went to switch targets. This error in judgment resulted in a two on two fight.

"Don't even say anything. WE don't even carry flashbombs on us." Stark said over their private channel.

"They do though. And they should at least use them." Neirad responded with a tinge of annoyance.

Stark didn't respond he was watching the two recruits bicker as they fended the Aragami off. He sighed, "Work together or die!" He shouted at them, "You are a unit. Tasked with protecting lives! Act like it!"

His words resonated with the two and they now began to formulate an actual plan of attack.

Federico was the strategist, "Annette, if you can fend them off with your hammer and give me the time to change, I can wear the Yaksha down with my sniper shots. Then we'll wear down the Ravana down with constant attacks."

Annette only heard, 'fend off with hammer' and began slamming her hammer into the two drawing their attention. She stepped away from the Ravana's sudden fire pillar and right into the line of sight of the Yaksha's sniper shot. She shrieked as bullet zoomed past her, just missing her. Federico's shot hit just in time.

"Sorry, I took too long again but I've got this now." He took aim and shot square into the Yaksha's side creating a rather sizable weak spot. "Missed, sorry." He apologized.

Annette noticed the weak spot and simply smiled gripping her weapon tighter. "No need to apologize." With a mighty swing she slammed her hammer into the Yaksha sending the beast clear across the ruined city where it crumpled.

They turned their full attention to the Ravana and Federico kept the beast distracted with freezing shots from his sniper as Annette gave it the work around with her hammer, smashing pieces of it's bond open. The beast turned before they could knock it down and finish it off running deeper into the ruined city. The two shared a victory shout at the beast retreat.

Stark shouted at them over the comms, "You idiots!It's looking for food! Chase it down before it can recover it's strength!"

Eyes went wide as the two rookies gave chase to the beast. "Where'd it go?" Annette held her hammer up, ready to smash the Ravana's head in as soon as it showed itself.

"It's probably in that building over there?" Federico had taken a vantage point on some old truck trailers. "Let's go check it out."

The two walked into the building and found it to be far too quiet, still Aragami were known to go silent when hiding so they made sure to do a broad sweep of the area. They came face to face with a powerful beast.

It resembled a white dragon without the wings, and it was quickly devouring the Ravana. Federico, startled, took a step back and slipped over his own shoe. Annette came quickly to his side and screamed upon facing the beast, she recalled the Black version of this monster that they had once faced and her near death experience with it.

The beast noticed them and went from standing on it's hind legs to all fours as it approached. Annette in her panic, transformed her arc and let loose a volley of shots that filled the air with dirt and dust before running off to her superiors.

"Han. Han." It was low on the comms and sounded panicked.

"You say something?" Stark questioned.

"Wasn't me." Neirad then tried to reach the recruits, "Either of you say something?" He asked

"Hannibal!" Annette's voice came through loudly.

"Shit." Neirad hit the ground flying toward their oracle signals. He arrived just in time to defend them from a fireball, "Go hide, recover your strength and then get home!" He ordered them as Stark stabbed into the beast side.

"But-" Federico began.

Stark cut him off quickly, "Not up for debate!" He jumped away from the beast firing freezing bullets into the cut he made as it closed up, "Your lives are the most important thing right now. We'll handle this!"

Neirad contacted Hibari, "Send an exfil to grab the kids. We've got a dangerously fast Hannibal here. It's white with purple accents, any information you can give us?" He shielded Stark from a fireball and the two silently created a plan.

It took a moment before Hibari responded, "Exfil on the way and you two better be on it! From the description it's the same as the other Hannibal's we've encountered, it's movements exceed even that of the Corrosive Hannibal but the same tactics should work."

"Good." Stark replied as he went in. "Neirad, I'm gonna open up it's weak points and you'll have to strike them till this thing goes down!"

Neirad nodded and the two rushed in, with Neirad being a minor annoyance as Stark cut and slashed into the beast. But it was fast, far faster than either expected for when the gauntlet on it's left arm broke, it immediately summoned two blades of energy in it's hands and began a series of furious slashes that sent both veterans back.

"Okay break the scales on the damn things back. I'm gonna try and take it down from there." Neirad cut into the exposed flesh beneath the gauntlet as Stark began the aerial assault to break it's scales.

The two worked at the beast making sure to keep up the pressure even when it unleashed those blades again. The scales broke, divine energy like wings spread from the Hannibal and heat could be felt emanating from it's body. But that didn't matter. Because Stark and Neirad were ready for it. Stark rushed in shoving his gun into it's mouth and pumping the beast full of electric bullets while Neirad jumped up atop it's back and initiated one of the most dangerous and stupid devours of his career. The maw of his Arc expanded inside of the Hannibal and came out through the other side of the beast.

Upon the successful devour he was thrown back from the beast, by a powerful rejection of his arc. He held his arm down while crying out in agony.

Stark rushed to his side, "What? What happened?" He asked but received no response. "Hibari, Nei's down I need an emergency evac for us right now, I'll be carrying him back to the den on a straight away." He told her.

Hibari was quick with her response: "Hold your positions, the Exfil is still in the area and on route to you both


	8. Chapter 7

Neirad was once again admitted to the medical bay, Stark sat by his side worried as to what happened during that devour. He felt a strange presence that was for sure. "It was just a damn Hannibal." He told himself.

Sakaki entered the room, "Correct. But also not so correct." He stated.

"Meaning?"

"It was a new strain of Hannibal and as usual, you two were the first to properly take this beast out, taking both of it's cores in the process you did well to slay the beast." He paused as Neirad woke up. "Glad to see you awake corporal. Have you anything to say for yourself?"

Neirad cracked his neck and checked to make sure he could feel his arm. "Nothing that won't get me in trouble. Did the rookies make it out okay?" He asked.

"Yes they are just fine. If not for you two being there the Blitz Hannibal would have surely taken them both, that's what we've decided to call this white and purple variant as it moves at lightning speeds." Sakaki laughed to himself. "You pushed yourself too hard, although not intentionally you matched the speeds of this beast and depleted your factor far faster than ever before. So when you devoured the monster your Arc took in quintuple the normal amount to account for the loss of Bias energy in your cells and that is what caused the overload."

Stark sighed, "Then he's okay?"

"Right as rain." Sakaki smiled, "But he will have to take it easy from here on out." He opened the door and in walked Shio with Annette and Federico.

"Apologize." Shio ordered the two of them.

Neirad smiled, "Shio it's fine, they did nothing wrong." He said to her but she slapped him. It was barely a blow and she didn't really mean it but she was trying to show that she was serious about his health. "I'm sorry." He apologized to her and pulled her into a tight loving hug before kissing her forehead. "You two feeling okay? You were both passed out when Stark and I got into the chopper."

Shio tackled Stark now that she noticed him.

Federico looked at the two, and the dent Shio left in the floor. She's some kind of monster, he thought. "We're doing well. Sorry you had to bail us out commander." He bowed.

Annette nervously rubbed her arm, "I won't run away next time!" She shouted, holding back tears.

Neirad pulled them into hugs as well, "Live to fight another day. Don't throw yourselves into danger recklessly and always try to protect everything you can while protecting yourself!" He told them. Looking over he found Shio had Stark in a choke-hold. "And whatever you do, don't wrestle Shio if Soma or myself aren't there to help." He smiled, "I'm going to my room, so make sure you two take care of yourselves." He advised.

Tsubaki approached as he exited the medical bay. "Captain," She greeted, "Pleased to see you are up and about."

"It's not like I'm going to let myself be out of commission for three days again, Director. I have an image to uphold as the Den's most prominent God Eater." He gave a smug look and surprised himself when Tsubaki responded with a laugh.

She caught herself after a moment, "You certainly did leave an impression on everyone in the Den. Especially Kanon Daiba, since you took her on those missions her friendly fire rate has dropped by twenty percent. And the Defense squad has gotten a lot better at defending the ghetto and killing off larger Aragami." She placed a hand on his shoulder, "And you will continue to do a good job, of that I have faith." The fact that Tsubaki gave him a genuine smile scared him, more than even staring death in the face.

"Thank you Director Tsubaki." Was all he could manage. Was he having an out of body experience now? Did the meds Sakaki put him on suddenly kick in? What was wrong with him? "If you'll excuse me Director, I'm going to go rest now." He dismissed himself.

He stopped by the Den's entrance with the intention of having Hibari give his missions to the others of the first unit. He nearly tripped over a child upon exiting the elevator. "Come on," Neirad spat at himself, "I'm sorry," He said turning to face the child, the little green haired girl.

"You should be, I'm going to be your boss one day." Said the little girl. A soft smile appeared upon her face, "Are you feeling okay though?" She asked him.

Her name was Erina. Erina Der Vogelweid, she was currently twelve going on thirteen, had long light green hair that went just pass her shoulders and blue eyes. She was in her school uniform and her father was no where in sight.

Neirad looked around again just to make sure he didn't skip over her father, "Are you here by yourself again?" He questioned with a chastising look.

The young girl nodded with a bit of guilt. "I want to become a God Eater so I'm learning all I can. Father would never allow me to follow in Eric's footsteps." She explained. "Please don't tell him." She pleaded.

"I won't."

"You have to promise." She told him.

Neirad held his pinky out to her.

"What's that for?" She asked, not knowing about pinky promises.

"It's a pinky promise, you give me your pinky and we shake them, sort of like a hand shake. It means that we made a promise that can never be broken." He explained, it was such a childish thing but always came with the most comfort.

"You promise right?" She wrapped her pinky around his.

"Promise." They shook.

"Awe, that's adorable." Kota said as he approached. Kota joined Fenrir at the same time as Neirad, however he was not a New-type like him. They were comrades in arms and worked well together. He is a year younger than Neirad, aged at seventeen with brownish green eyes and very unkempt orange hair that he hides with his beanie hat. No matter what he's wearing he always has a yellow and orange striped scarf around his neck.

"Shut up." Neirad joked, as Erina made her way around the Den's entrance. "Oh Kota can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure dude, what's up?" Kota responded as energetic as the day he first became a God Eater.

"Would you mind handling the rest of my missions for today? And training Annette and Federico if they ask for it? I'm really tired and don't think I should be in the field for a while." The explanation was rather embarrassing but that could wait for later.

Kota nodded, "Of course man. You've been pushing yourself really hard for a while now and it's probably best you recover." He smiled, "Go relax. I'll explain things to Hibari for you


	9. Chapter 8

New developments had risen in the last few months. Licca finally made use of the cells of the Singularity to strengthen the walls of the town around the Den. The discovery of the Blitz Hannibal gave Doctor Sakaki some concern about new types of Aragami popping up. This prompted him to speak with Director Tsubaki about a new unit whose primary mission would be to hunt down these new Aragami and provide the data back to the Far East for them to be prepared in the future.

Thus the independent unit known as Cradle was born. Director Tsubaki put them team together herself. Many of the God Eaters of the Den declined the offer to leave and it was understandable why, the Den was their home and they wanted to protect it. So the task undoubtedly fell to the first Unit, everyone but Stark and Kota.

Alisa didn't take that news well. "You're not coming with me?" She held back her tears.

"Someone has to protect the Den. And we can't just leave Kota alone her." Stark argued.

"Kota is a veteran." She responded, "He's more than capable of handling any situation. And the defense unit is also staying behind."

Stark sighed, "Babe, I understand all of that. But the defense unit still has trouble facing a Hannibal, and if another of those Blitz Hannibal things shows up, the Den is going to get decimated. Lindow is leaving so he can't take care of it, which leaves me here to face the danger. Besides, someone has to keep our room tidy for when you stop by every now and again." He gave his signature heart melting smile.

"Fine." Alisa conceded but not before kicking him in the chest and out of his chair. "I'm still mad at you."

The scene played out and Neirad sighed, Gina would not be happy about this. He dreaded going to tell her and decided he would just get it over with.

"Alright." Was all she had to say.

He was confused. "That's it?" He asked her.

"It's our job to go fight these things and take them out." She mouthed 'boom'. "I'm not going to stop you for doing your job, our job. You're going to protecting others and I won't stop you from doing that." She wrapped an arm around him.

Neirad could never understand her sometimes but she always did mean well and talk around him. "I'll stop by when I can get the chance to." He told her.

"Good, and then you can make up for lost time between us and my sniper fetish. As you call it." She kissed his cheek and released him. "Go out there and protect the world. I'll be here or there, depends what they have us doing. But rest assured I will be kicking a whole lot of ass." She sauntered away with a laugh that was so purely Gina, he couldn't help but smile.

With that Cradle was formed. Tsubaki was giving up her status as director and giving it to Sakaki, effectively becoming a 'retiree'. Soma, Lindow, Alisa and Neirad formed Cradle under the supervision of Sakuya who was being coached by Tsubaki. A very normal arrangement as Sakuya Amamiya had just birthed a child a few months ago.

They would be using one of the Den's Recreational Vehicles for this, usually reserved for missions that would take a few weeks. Tsubaki established a courier system for them through her many connections at Fenrir HQ and the group would be leaving soon.


	10. Chapter 9

It's been a few months since the new group, Cradle they called themselves, had dispatched from the Far East Branch. Tsubaki was not only their operator but also their mechanic at least for basic repairs anything too serious and they would report it to the Far East for a proper repair, so far things have gone very well. Alisa being the ambitious ever dedicated woman, who HAS to keep herself occupied, started a program to better protect humanity. She studied the necessary research and even somehow got Soma involved in this scheme.

The plan was to create a base, something that could be set up quickly and withstand a beating from the less powerful Aragami. They would first collect all the necessary cells to create a strong binding and rejecting field against the Aragami. The collecting of these cells was usually done by Neirad alone simply because he didn't want to interrupt Alisa's studies or Soma's research, and Lindow was helping Sakuya take care of their newborn. Not that he minded this of course, he often used this time to contact the Far East and just get updates on how things had been progressing.

Collection was simple. Research was simple. Implementing the entire thing was a whole new process of bullshit that drove Alisa crazy. Neirad made a couple of low profile calls to Director Sakaki and received some added research he was able to slip into Alisa and Soma's notes. This got the project going and growing quickly. They soon had aid from Fenrir HQ to work on their Satellite Basses as Alisa called them.

Sakuya joined Alisa with her two year old sleepily walking alongside her, holding onto her pant leg for support. "Mind if Ren and I keep you company?" The Veteran asked as she held out a cup of tea for her little sister.

"Of course!" Alisa hurried to move all of her research papers out of the way of the baby and herself. She suddenly became aware that she hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks. The long yawn being a testament to the lack of sleep.

"Working hard aren't you?" Sakuya smiled, "Just remember to take things slowly sometimes. If you don't you and our leader will probably end up working yourselves into an early grave." Ren tugged at Alisa's skirt hoping to be picked up and held by his auntie.

"Is he still pushing himself?" Alisa sounded perturbed, she stood up, "I'm going to have to speak with him again."

Sakuya grabbed the back of her shirt, "That's exactly what I mean Alisa. You're about to push yourself again even more to scold Neirad for pushing himself too hard when all he's trying to do is make your job easier." She gave her a motherly smile.

Alisa let out a sigh, sitting back down and focusing her attention on Ren. "Have you been eating enough?" She asked.

Ren smiled, "Yeah! Uncle Neirad and mom make good food."

"That's good to know. Your mom makes good food." Alisa returned the smile.

"The best." Ren fought off a yawn.

Sakuya grabbed his hand, "Looks like it's bedtime." She hugged Alisa, "That's goes for you as well young lady."


	11. Chapter 10

Aragami are interesting things, like people they refuse to be wiped away. Always changing always evolving making sure they can stay at the top of the food chain, even if it means devouring one another to get there. Even with this singular drive new species of Aragami were born, ones with special abilities. These new kinds of Aragami were classified as highly dangerous, and given the classification of Psion.

-This data was provided by the Blood Unit Forces to Fenrir HQ and distributed accordingly.

Even they didn't have a lot of information on hand as to what these creatures could do. And even then Cradle was tracking one, it resembled a Chi-you crossed with a Sariel as it seemed rather elegant and had a body of feathers rather than the Chi-you's armored exoskeleton. Unfortunately for Cradle they noticed a Vajra and Prithvi Mata nearby and it's presence could throw them off the course of this new Aragami, the Yan Zhi as it is called.

Tsubaki mulled over how to handle the situation with her team. "Normally I'd send in Lindow and Soma to handle the beast but we still don't know what this new Aragami is capable of." Tsubaki tapped her side as she mulled over her options.

"I can gather data on the Psion." Alisa volunteered. "It will give me a chance to test the waters myself and gather valuable data on the Aragami." She seemed determined.

Tsubaki nodded, "Very well, Neirad you can accompany her, then. I don't like sending my soldiers out alone." She commented.

Neirad scoffed, "Yeah cause sending me to take on four Vajras alone really ate you up inside right? Kanon was at the base that day." He pointed at Tsubaki when she opened her mouth to respond and then she didn't.

Sakuya poked her head into the room, "Sorry to interrupt but a Quadriga has also entered been spotted. It's still roaming around so it may not be a problem, also it might be worth noting that those red clouds are off in the distance." She leaned against the door.

Tsubaki sighed, "Alright change of plans, Neirad you are to handle the Quadriga. Soma and Lindow take out the Vajra and Prithvi Mata. Alisa you are to gather data on the Yan Zhi and if at all possible bring back it's core for study. Also avoid those red clouds at all cost, we still don't know why they have suddenly appeared." Tsubaki looked at each of the men in turn, "Those are your orders, finish them post haste and remember do not get yourselves killed." She promptly left the room ordering Sakuya that she was to be accompanying her.

Soma chuckled to himself as he put his glasses in his coat pocket. "Well at least this will be good exercise." He lifted up his Arc and smiled at it, "I didn't forget about you." He let out a laugh.

Lindow smiled, "I've got an idea last to kill their Aragami buys everyone else dinner?"

Neirad glanced at Soma and the two shrugged, "Just don't buy cheap food when you lose Lindow."

"Making bets again? When are you guys going to grow up?" Alisa entered.

"This is grown. It adds an air of friendly competition. Neirad's going to buy us dinner when he kills his Aragami last." Lindow.

"You mean when you kill yours last." Neirad said in a correcting manner.

Soma laughed, "I just know I'm not losing so…" He approached a motorcycle and took off.

"What an ass…" Lindow pushed Neirad aside and jumped onto one of the motorcycles, "I want a steak!" He shouted as he took off.

"Nei," Alisa got his attention, "Be careful out there okay?"

"Same to you, if you need us don't hesitate. Seriously." Neirad took off on foot, his target being only a few miles away.

Neirad was the last to return from his mission, he sighed, "So I guess I'm buying dinner?" He asked.

Soma shook his head, "Alisa hasn't made it back yet."

"Seriously?"

"Yep, she contacted Tsubaki briefly to tell her that she met with the Blood Unit, but that's about it."

Lindow, who had been on his phone up until this point, stood up. "I'm going to go get her, who's with me?" He asked the others.

Tsubaki's voice cut across the room with a chill, "You'll do no such thing." She looked each of them in the eye. "Stay here and rest, Alisa will be returning shortly. And then we're heading home to the Den."

Neirad shivered, "I forgot how scary your sister can be."

"So did I." Lindow sounded legitimately scared.

They returned to the Den and spoke with Dr. Sakaki first and foremost. Alisa explained that her God Arc was useless against the Psion, doing barely minor damage at the most. She explained that it had the ability to spawn other Aragami, that resembled Ogretails, although these were without cores. She also noted that the Blood Unit had no issues facing this particular Aragami and that their help could prove to be of use in the future.

Dr. Sakaki made a mental note of all this and dismissed the others so he could speak with Tsubaki privately. Lindow went back to Cradle's base to spend time with his wife and son, Alisa went to see Stark and Neirad explored the Den hoping he could find Gina. The Den changed since they had left, the cafeteria had been upgraded into a full on lounge and practically everything had been refurbished. Even the Outer Ghetto had gotten a new wall and improved living conditions.

"Captain? I mean Neirad?" This was undeniably Kota, "What are you doing back here?" He asked with a grin.

"We stopped by to give a report, I think we'll be leaving in the morning though." They shared a hug.

Two more approached, God Eater's Neirad had not seen before a green haired girl and a blonde boy. "Captain Kota." The girl said and Neirad raised his brow, "Can you explain to Emil that using traps is not a cowardly tactic but rather strategic as it gives time to think of a plan of attack depending on what trap is used." She sounded exasperated.

Kota scratched the back of his head, "Come on Erina, Emil. Can't you two go more than a few minutes without getting into an argument about something?" He sighed, "Listen you're never going to improve if you don't explore all your options."

Neirad scoffed, "Says the guy who was using electric rounds on a Vajra for the first three months." It was said under his breath.

"Maybe you want to give them some pointers then wise guy?" Kota lightly punched Neirad in the shoulder.

"Sure I can do that."

Emil asked, "And who might you be sir?"

Kota answered, "That's right, I had forgotten to introduce you. Neirad this is Erina, although you probably remember her." Kota placed his hand on Erina's head, "And this young man here is Emil Von Strasbourg he joined the german branch originally and was transferred here a few months after that. Both are in the first unit under me." He stated.

Neirad's eyes went wide as he recognized Erina, "Little Erina?" He laughed, "Man you grew up." A smile crossed his face. "Listen traps are essential to battle, they can either make or break a long fight. You have to use them properly to stun the Aragami to either get away and heal or to take some much overdue critical spots. Some weaken Aragami cells making their attacks less damaging and others actually blind the beast so you can get to fallen teammates. They are essentially and Kota is a master at using them." The unexpected praise caught Kota by surprise.

Emil spoke up, "But to use such cowardly tactics. How can one face the enemy with that sort of mindset? One must be brave, courageous, and have the strength to die on the battlefield facing down the enemy head on."

Erina slapped herself in the face. "I can't believe this." She muttered. "It's impossible to get through to him captain. Can I join Cradle with you?"

Neirad gave her a confused look, "No." He answered definitively. "If you can't get along with your teammate now then you can't join Cradle. Also I need you here to help protect the Ghetto. You're the front line and once you have that down then maybe you can join up with me. Or you can do what you said you would do and be my boss one day." He held up his pinky with a smile.

"Someone has to watch Kota." Erina laughed.

Kota couldn't help but laugh. "Come on Nei, I'll treat you to some tea." He gave that large Kota Fujiki smile.


	12. Chapter 11

Neirad and Kota shared a drink with each other and were soon joined by Kanon and Hibari. "I'm actually worried about this Red Rain stuff. From what I've read, the Black Plague stuff is horrible." Neirad finished his drink, "So just make sure you're being careful out in the field Kota."

"No worries man. I can take care of things, I'm more worried about those two messing each other up."

"Hah, you are the captain after all."

Kota scratched the back of his head, "About that man, don't you want to take it back when you finish up with Cradle work? Cause I thought I was just holding it over for you." Kota admitted.

"I want you to stay there, an Old Type can teach defense better than a New Type. I learned that much from Lindow." He smiled.

Kanon suddenly piped up, "Hibari is that the captain?!" She nearly yelled. "It is the captain!" She smiled and tackled him to the floor.

Hibari who had not been paying much attention only noticed Kanon tackling someone to the floor, "Kanon get up." She pryed the pink haired God Eater away, "I'm so sorry she's normally doesn't do this to…" Hibari trailed off as she recognized him. "You're back." She said.

"I told you it was the captain." Kanon smiled, "I should make cookies!" She smiled and got behind the counter to begin making cookies.

Kota laughed, "It's good to see her in a good mood again. Haruomi usually brings her down."

Hibari was still staring at Neirad she wasn't sure why he was here and didn't recall anything about Cradle members stopping by. "I'm off the clock so get a different operator." She suddenly said with a bit more animosity than she knew she had.

"I'm not here on a mission." Neirad looked to Kota for answers but judging by his friends confused face he didn't have any. "I'm literally just here for the night. Leaving first thing in the morning." He apologized to Kanon for the disappointment. "We came to give a report, that's it. I would've gone back to base by now if not for the Captain here." He put his arm around Kota's neck.

Hibari nodded, "I understand. I thought you might be staying a while for whatever reason. It's just a lot of new faces and I'm more swamped with work than before."

"I get it, I really do. Just have faith and the next time I visit I'll do a couple missions for you, help ease the burden of the paperwork." He glanced at Kota. "Or the captain here can take on a few extra missions, he is a veteran after all." Neirad laughed.

Kota gave a sheepish smile, "See I would, but then who's going to watch Erina and Emil? I can't leave that up to someone else."

This was when Kanon spoke up, "I wouldn't mind doing some more missions." Everyone looked at her inquisitively, "Haru and I hardly go out on missions as it is. I can't get better if I don't take on new missions."

Neirad looked at Kota and said in a hushed tone, "I got her to be near perfect at not hitting teammates. What happened?" And Kota just shrugged.

Before the conversation could go any further Tsubaki called Neirad back to the base. "Looks like the Queen needs me. We'll catch up more when I visit again." He gave each of them a hug in turn. "Later you guys."


	13. Chapter 12

Neirad entered the base, "What happened?" First words out of his mouth, straight to business.

Tsubaki shook her head. "We've detected another Blitz Hannibal. This one is making it's feeding ground on Aegis Island and it's already killed a few Good Eaters." She shook her head as if debating something.

They all noticed, Soma spoke up. "Tsubaki, what the hell aren't you telling us?"

Lindow interjected before Tsubaki could tear into soma. "This could be crucial information you are withholding from us, and that can jeopardize our mission. It's better for us to know in case it does happen." He reasoned.

Tsubaki sighed, "I want us to get to this first. I hear that HQ is sending one of their own to Aegis, I don't know who or why but this is our mission. Now go take this thing out." She sent the men out, worry settling in her heart.

Soma paused as they approached the island by boat, he had been fidgeting with his God Arc up until now. "Do you think Tsubaki is worried about whoever HQ is sending out? She seemed restless and she never does."

Lindow didn't answer, he was unusually quiet.

Neirad sighed as they reached Aegis island. "Let's just take care of the Blitz and get back home." He dismounted the boat and headed inside the island. "Oh and be alert, the Blitz is extremely powerful and fast, Stark and I had issues with it."

Soma and Lindow looked at one another, shrugged and followed after the annoyed God Eater.

They engaged the Blitz together Soma being the main physical offense while Neirad and Lindow provided bullet cover. They grounded the beast all setting in to deal as much damage as possible. They were able to break the bond of it's back scales, and gauntlet. It's tail whip though, that stupid simple attack came out faster than anyone expected and it sent Soma flying into Lindow. Neirad looked back checking on his friends and faced the Blitz. It's mouth was agape with a violet flame coming forth. He didn't think, only jumping in front of the beast with his shield raised hoping he could deflect the flames long enough for Lindow and Soma to get out of the way.

The flames quit early, even by the Blitz standard. Neirad removed his shield to see what happened and found the Blitz dead. He approached and judging from the kill blow, it came from a sniper type gun model. There was no sign of anyone else around though. "Let's collect it's core and crucial elements. I hate being here." The others agreed.


	14. Chapter 13

It has been a few months since the main force of Cradle had been together. Neirad returned from his mission, an Ouroboros. "Hey Sakuya, hey Ren." He smiled as he pat the toddler's head. "Where's Tsubaki, I need to get her this mission report."

The child only cocked his head up at Neirad, confusion written upon his face. "She's in the back." Sakuya answered as she pushed her computer away. "Strangely enough she was also looking for you."

"Thanks. You should take the time to rest for the day." Neirad smiled. He made his way to the back of the base. "Sakuya said you were looking for me commander? I mean Tsubaki." The air of authority Tsubaki held would never go away.

Tsubaki chuckled, "Nice to know I still got it." She waved him over, "Take a look at this report. It's from doctor Soma. He and my idiot brother have found the Kyuubi. And with the help of the Blood Unit's captain they plan to defeat the beast." She laughed, "The blood Captain is special, able to draw out some kind of hidden power that will allow them to break the bonds of the pure blooded Aragami."

Neirad read through the report, "So now I can go home and visit everyone?" He asked half jokingly.

"No." Tsubaki shut him down.

He laughed, "So why tell me this?"

She took back the tablet and showed him a new message. A smile crossed her face as his eyes lit up. "That is why, I'm sending you to pick them all up and head to the Far East as quickly as possible. The rest of Cradle can handle any smaller threats along the way." "There was no response from Neirad for a while, "Well get to it soldier, you have an hour to get ready."

Neirad blinked several times. "Got it." He said in a distant tone.

It didn't take long for him to pick up the requested personnel from the message and have them at the Far East, it was just after morning. Director Sakaki approached him, "Sorry to bring this up to you on such short notice, but I have need of your skills. It's only a small problem, but I do have a long briefing to attend to. Your targets: An electric Kongou, two Ukonvasaras and a Vajra. I trust you'll have no problems completing this task?"

"Easy director. I'm good at my job I'll let you know when it's done." Neirad looked to his Arc in the seat next to him. "I'll be back asap."

"Oh and Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Don't worry about the cores. Just dispatch the beast." Those were orders he had not heard in a very long time.

Neirad stood atop the Vajra's now lifeless body, he let out a sigh. The Vajra began to dissipate not that he had any qualms with this happening, it was time for him to get back home now. He made his way inside through the underground route and went straight to the Director's office, he still had to be acknowledged before being seen by anyone else. The director was out so Neirad sat in the corner on the Elbow couch as he waited for him to return. A thought occurred to him, this one came right out of the blue: Was Shio's room still around? Or had they cleaned it up?

The door opened now, "There he is, the one I've been waiting so eager for you to meet." Sakaki shut the door as he spoke to a young woman. The captain of the Blood Unit he guessed by how Sakaki was treating her. She had short purple hair that stopped at her shoulders and matching eyes. She was dressed casually in a white zip up top along with a violet skirt white leggings and armored boots, her armlet was black. So she was definitely a blood member.

Sakaki introduced him, "Noble this is Neirad, he was the leader of the 1st unit I'm sure you've heard a lot about him at this point." Sakaki chuckled, "You're probably tired of hearing about the former captain at this point aren't you?"

Neirad stifled a laugh at this. "I'm Neirad Kageichi, it's a pleasure to finally meet you I've heard good things." He extended his arm out to her.

"Noble Kisaragi." She shook his hand, "And don't worry I'm not tired of hearing about 'the legendary captain of the 1st unit"

They gave a firm handshake and both felt a powerful surge. Memories they had never known flowed into one another in an unsettling way. Both pulled away from the other with an amount of force.

Neirad spoke before Noble could say anything on it, "Director I've taken care of that task. Our captain here looks like she could use a break, for a few hours. Let's give her one." He smiled to the Blood captain and shifted his eyes in a way to say that they would talk about what happened later. "It was a pleasure meeting you, I hope the old man isn't working you too hard." He stepped past them both leaving the room.

"Odd," Sakaki began, "Neirad's never been one to leave so quickly before. I wonder if has something on his mind?"

"What do you mean director?" Noble questioned as she grabbed the doorknob, she was suddenly feeling dizzy. Perhaps she did need rest and hadn't noticed the fatigue.

"The Captain, Neirad I mean, doesn't normally rush off unless he has something on his mind." Sakaki gave a dismissal of the thought, "You are looking a little pale though, so you should probably take the captain's suggestion and get some rest."

Noble nodded, "You're probably right." She decided to go to the medical bay just to get some pills for her sudden dizzy spell.

A tear was brought to Neirad's eye as he entered Shio's old room. "I can't believe they didn't make Sakaki clean this room up." He spoke to Soma who was using Sakaki's old lab for research. "I miss her." He wiped the tears away.

Soma removed his glasses and wandered over, "Why don't you add your name to it? Then we she comes back for an apocalypse visit we can show it to her." He had a yellow crayon in his hand.

Neirad signed the wall, "Soma, how's the research coming along? Any luck so far?"

"Nope, it's stunted so I need more cells to work with, once the wall is fully completed I can shift my resources over to the Spiral Tree." Soma explained, "From there I can, hold on." The door opened.

"What happened?" Neirad emerged from Shio's room when Soma went quiet. "Captain Noble."

Noble looked at Neirad, "Can we talk?" She asked


	15. Chapter 14

Noble walked Neirad to the roof, she wasn't sure how to approach the matter.

"You wanted to ask about the Resonance, right?" Neirad leaned on the railing looking out at the Outer Ghetto with nostalgia, "The Ghetto looks so much safer now." He commented

"Since Soma arrived I've been gathering data for him. The wall is now extra protected thanks to the pure cells i extracted from the Kyuubi." Noble smiled if only briefly, "What was that earlier? You called it a resonance but I've never felt one so strongly before."

Neirad let out a somber sigh, "The last time I felt a feeling so strongly it was when we took down the Arius Nova." He choked back thoughts of Shio and that heartbreaking reunion. "You're the captain of the blood unit and you have a very strong desire to protect those around you and save the man in that spiral tree off in the distance, right? You've lost one of your teammates and as a result something inside of you has snapped and pushed your abilities to new limits, am I correct? That's what I get from your memories anyway." Noble nodded unsure of how to respond, Neirad continued, "I remember the same feeling of dread when Lindow had been 'missing', I was suddenly the new leader of the unit despite still being a rookie. I pushed myself harder to ensure that my unit would never again lose another comrade. But I pushed too hard, I didn't take care of myself, broke my arc at one point even." He realized he was getting off topic and gave Noble the chance to speak.

Noble searched through the memories, there was a lot of heartache in them but many more smiles hidden underneath. "You took Gina on a lot of missions," She commented with a slight blush, "But I can understand your emotions, it feels like you and I were cut from the same cloth." A moment to collect her thoughts, "You can fight off psions because your… 'Arc' will devour anything for you..?" She seemed a little confused. "I don't know your connection to your arc so I don't understand."

"In a sense my Arc and Soma's and Lindows are all part of a Singularity. I'm assuming you've seen Lindow's arm?" Noble nodded in response. "Well Lindow's arm contains a blue core, I have no idea what it came from but it works in the same way as a singularity. Same with Soma's Arc he devoured Shio's physical form the form of the Apocalypse and thus it too is a singularity. And myself? Well I devoured the Nova a physical reconstitution of the most dangerous cells left behind by Shio." Neirad paused unsure if he should say more or not. "My point is, Shio made us strong. Her feelings for us and our feelings for her they are apart of our Arcs and since my God Arc has such a high thirst for Aragami it bypasses cells to make sure it can devour them, alone the process takes time, too much time. But with your ability to Evoke this power and my ability to heighten your resonance we can speed this process up much more quickly."

There was a soft chuckle, "I thought I might find you up here. And you're speaking to the blood captain. YOU move quickly." There was a slight chill to the voice.

Neirad turned around and his face absolutely lit up with color. "I wasn't ignoring you Gina. I just got back from my mission an hour ago and now I'm talking with the Blood Captain about getting everyone ready to have their blood abilities unlocked." He explained.

"And when did you plan to come see me? I've had my ability unlocked so have Shun and Karel." Gina smirked her red eye locked onto him. "Evening Blood captain, mind if you continue this tomorrow? I'd like to reacquaint myself with Neirad."

Noble shook her head, "I already know that you two have a lot of catching up to do." She chuckled, "But jeez Gina you could've told me that your elusive prey was the former Captain you always spoke so highly of." She scurried off with a laugh as Gina tried to catch her.

Neirad grabbed Gina's hand, "Come on. We can go talk somewhere more private I have a lot I want to tell you about." His arms wrapped around the sniper with such feeling that the marksman couldn't help but rest her head on his shoulder. "Before that just hold me like this a while longer. I've missed you."


	16. Chapter 15

Gina woke Neirad from their brief slumber, her nightmares still in effect. With steady and careful learned hands Neirad roused Gina from her nightmare, his hands wrapped around her as he laid her head in his lap. Singing sweet nothings as she woke from her nightmare, trigger finger still pulling on a phantom trigger.

Neirad knew of her dream it was one of years ago, the very mission in which her Arc jammed up against a particularly nasty vajra. Tatsumi and Brendon were busy rescuing some newbies from their mistake whatever it had been. It was only by luck that Neirad had been in the area, a chewing out from Tsubaki left him in a foul mood and he asked Hibari to find him a mission not caring what it was. So she did and that was how he ended up here. Gina wasn't ready to die, she resorted to keeping the Vajra at bay by smacking her Arc against the beast. For a while it worked and suddenly the beast dropped down dead.

"That could have been worse." Neirad kicked the beast aside his rage from earlier still not satisfied. "You okay?"

"Fine." Gina responded tossing her Arc to the floor, "Piece of junk jammed up on me." Her voice was shaky, filled with anger.

Neirad sighed. "Pick up your Arc." He flatly spoke, "It doesn't appreciate that type of behavior. It's a part of you so treat it as such."

That's basically the story of how they met. Neirad helped Licca with her God Arc tune ups and eventually Gina joined in.

Rest never last long at the Den. All able God Eaters were called in for a meeting. "Where's the blood unit?" Neirad asked, he noticed Captain Noble was missing from the meeting.

Paylor answered, "Currently busy on a task of their own. As such this task now falls solely to you." He began explaining, "We've detected and I hate to say it, a hannibal type Aragami the likes of which have not been documented with us or at Fenrir HQ. It's leading a veritable pack of Aragami that is going to take the entirety of us at the Den to repel as a result I will be having two more operators joining us, Urara Hoshino and Teruomi Makabe."

Urara is a girl with long dark purple hair and purple eyes. She wears an operator uniform that consists of a short sleeved white dress, a small red ribbon and a corset type vest. She also wears a black pantyhose and a pair of red mary jane shoes.

Teruomi is a male with medium olive hair and brown eyes. He wears an operator uniform that consists of a white shirt, a red tie and a navy blue vest. He also wears dark brown pants and gloves.

Paylor began speaking again, "These two will be assisting Hibari during this operation, it will be a crash course for them so please be patient with them. Neirad you will be leading the charge with Tatsumi and Stark as your seconds in command. Get out there, and win us another day." The send off was perfect.

Soma approached Neirad, "Alright leader, let's do this."

Stark then approached, "Yeah, we gotta make Shio proud after all."

Neirad grinned, "Just go get Alisa and your squad set up." He then addressed the rest of the Den, "Alright! Listen up we Tatsumi and the defense unit, you're our vanguard as usual, I want you to hold the line as we go further in and join with us once we face against this hannibal! Those with Stark you are my Sword! You are the slayers of Aragami and will destroy every Aragami you see! Now get out there and do what I need you to do!" He stated, "Licca!" The call out, "We need those link supports now!" He ordered.

Licca was not happy with him, "Be glad I just finished a few. Go out there and fight and don't you dare break your Arc again! Gina keep an eye on our idiot leader." She pointed at him, "What are you all standing around for? Weapons free! Go fight!"

The battlefield was a mess, death tolls rose on both sides despite all of the efforts. Neirad designated his squad to fall in with the sword, what he called Stark's squad. They fought hard against the Aragami. It took a day to push them away from the main housing area. Stark had found a new capable God Eater amidst the chaos, a fairly new soldier, black of hair and eyes, by the codename of Kazuto, the boy wasn't very much of a team player had probably not had a permanent squad yet but he had it where it counted. Killing Aragami with impunity and Stark really liked that. Alisa laid down suppressing fire, along with a few old types who opened the Aragami up for killer combos. Whenever she depleted her oracle reserves she would engage in close combat taking out any small ones and breaking the bonds of the mid size Aragami.

Gina was sent to the defense squad to provide cover fire, her sniper skills fully on display she easily dispatched any smaller aragami, giving precedence to any small Aragami that came to close to Neirad, despite his orders. Kanon was also a tremendous help, with so many targets she didn't accidently fire on any of her teammates, except Shun and Karel but those were far from accidental shots, especially considering the massive blast radius on those rounds.

Tatsumi and Brendan were absolutely working well dispatching the stragglers whether they be large or small. Tatsumi would weaken them with quick strikes from his short blade and Branden would break the bonds with his buster. This was done in quick fashion thanks to the experience they had gained over the years of being the defense unit.

Two days in and the new operators were doing well reminding others that they were low on oracle cells or stamina. The operation was going well they had driven the Aragami to the oldest section of the Outer Ghetto and that was when they found a challenge.

Stark came through on the coms, "I found it, it's big it's golden looks like some sort of spartan warrior in those old world history books, It's accompanied by three Garm, two fierce Kongou, and a Hera." His com went silent.

Hibari came on the coms, "Readings confirmed, I suggest a more cautious approach to this problem we don't even know what this Spartacus is capable of." She switched over to a private channel of just her and Neirad. "Come home safely, and drag everyone back with you. Stark turned off his com to avoid the noise of you yelling at him."

"Smart move." Neirad responded as he moved through the broken buildings. He switched to the open frequency, "Do not let any Aragami get out of this area. If you are on the ropes, run, get to cover, heal up and then get back in there. Retreat is absolutely not an option. And split these bastards up!" He took a deep breath. "Soma! Lindow! Take control of the situation. Tatsumi figure out a way for us to split these beast up and kill them as fast as possible."

"On it." Tatsumi responded, "Gunners your priority is the Hera, Busters you are on Kongou duty open up the bonds and let the long blades handle the rest. Short blades you're with me, we're providing distraction on the Garms while Starks group keeps the big guy busy."

Neirad loved it when Tatsumi gave orders, cause there was no arguing not even from Karel and Shun. Just orders being followed without complaint. Neirad helped pull one of the Garms away and kept its attention on him as the others worked their way on opening it's bonds. "If we can just keep this pace we won't have anything to worry about." He shielded Kazuto from one of the Garm's fireballs. "Aim at the things head for me we can get this beast taken out right now."

"Got it, just keep it distracted." Kazuto apparently had a plan already.

I don't think anyone expected the resulting explosive blast from that assault gun. Two other God Eaters took the beast down. That was one Garm down leaving two Garm, Kongou and an injured Hera.

"We have a problem!" Hibari bursted in on the coms, "The Spartacus' bias response has just doubled in strength! I think it's pulling from the other Aragami in the area. That entire area is a danger zone, be careful and don't take ANY unnecessary risk!" That was an order and Hibari didn't usually give orders.

The Spartacus charged forward lifting Stark off the ground with it's claw and punching him across the old Ghetto. Luckily Stark was able to block at the last second, didn't do much to help when he hit the wall though. Kannon blasted him with a healing radial. "Thanks." Stark wiped the blood from his mouth. "Gina go help Nei before he get's his dumbass killed by this thing."

"On it." Gina was off in a hurry.

Lindow pushed the beast back with his mutated arm, he bought them about two seconds of time, but that was enough for the sniper guard to lay into the beast. What wasn't expected was the sudden ball of energy it shot at them. Tatsumi and Brendan jumped in to block the blast, they were both sent backwards into the abandoned houses.

Urara came in over the coms, "Both are down with faint bias traces. Critically injured but not dead."

Teruomi chimed in, "All other Aragami Bias traces have vanished and the Spartacus has gained another power increase."

It was the last push of the battle, Lindow and Soma were pincering the beast trying to tear apart the bonds on the beast's arms. Stark had joined in along with Alisa, their Arcs digging into the tail, it was met with a short rejection but stubbornness equals power and these two had that in spades. Not only did they overcome the rejection but they also bit the beast tail off. And fired all of their transfer bullets into allies giving them all a simulated level one burst.

Gunners blasted the beast with it's own energy blast while all those with blades torn into the beast ripping it's bonds apart with impunity. The Spartacus began charging a blast with it's mouth and with the others busy Neirad jumped in front of the beast to absorb the blow despite the obvious consequences of such an action. Suddenly the beast stopped moving and everyone held their breath. Neirad looked up to see Kazuto standing on the beast head, entire Arc jammed into it. He turned gave a thumbs up and fell over.


End file.
